If you read last week’s premiere edition of SL’s Job Hunters, you would’ve found a bevy of information about how to potentially nab both national (remote) and local jobs from employers who are still hiring, even with the COVID-19 pandemic raging out yonder.
Some of you might be wondering why Saratoga Living is trying to help people find jobs. I can’t speak for the rest of the staff here, but I can give you a little personal insight into the matter. About five years ago, I was a freelance writer, working remotely from Oakland, CA, pitching what I believed to be “amazing” ideas to editors across the country. And I was striking out. A lot. I was rejected over and over and over again, and it started to take a mental toll. Eventually, I slid into a deep depression, which consumed my every thought and action. On the my wife’s suggestion, I sought out psychotherapy and took up meditation, and the two have been a central part of my life ever since then (I wrote, at length, about the experience here). My point? Because we spend so much of our time at work—and often, it’s the only time we hear positive reenforcement for what we’re doing—simply having a job is invaluable. And not having a stable one, as I found in that micro-home in Oakland, can be detrimental to your mental health. Having a job is a lot more than just working and money and supporting your family, all of which are in play, too.
Luckily, as I’m finding, there are jobs out there—despite unemployment claims continuing to rise—and while you could spend the better part of your day researching where to get them yourself, why not let Saratoga Living give you a little assist? Below, you’ll find more remote jobs picks, local job/gig opportunities and great employment resources.
Local Job Opportunities
Cool Job Opportunity (Local)
I wasn’t joking when I said “here’s how we can pitch in.” As you know, we not only publish Saratoga Living, but also Capital Region Living magazine now, and because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re in need one strong, athletic type, who can lift and deliver bundles of our magazines to businesses in Downtown Saratoga on a part-time basis. The position is paid, and we’re offering flexible, daytime work hours, too—so if that person want to stops and read The Infinite Jest at some point during his or her shift, he or she can. You can call our very own Tina Galante at 518-210-7303 for more information.
Cool Job Opportunity (Local)
A day after posting the first SL’s Job Hunters story, Glens Falls-based Arrow Financial Corporation, a multi-bank holding company with more than $3 billion in assets, got in touch with us. “As an essential business to the communities we serve, Arrow Financial Corporation is a growing and progressive company,” a rep there told me. “We are currently hiring and are looking for highly motivated, talented candidates to join our staff.” Awesome news, right? It turns out that Arrow is the parent company of Glens Falls National Bank, Saratoga National Bank and Upstate Agency, LLC, an insurance agency that specializes in personal and business insurance, as well as group health and employee benefits. Prospective employees can fill out an application here—or if they have any direct questions or want to further discuss other career opportunities at the companies, they can email: [email protected]. Easy peasy.
Cool Job Opportunity (Local)
Fancy a career in healthcare, but don’t want to spend an eternity in college becoming a doctor? The New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) is looking to fill multiple temporary positions in data entry at the Wadsworth Center in Albany. If you’re interested, you can email your résumé to [email protected], with a subject line WC-COVID19/OA1Temp or fax it to 518-473-3395. If you overnight it, you can probably get it there in time for the deadline:
Human Resources Management Group
WC-COVID-19 19/OA1Temp
Room 2217, Corning TowerBuilding, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY 12237–0012
Résumés will only be accepted through April 1 (tomorrow).
Cool Job Opportunity (Local)
I’m a little biased, because I live here, but Troy is the cat’s pajamas. The downtown scene is happening, HBO’s supposedly going to be filming at least one period piece there and the food options are next-level. OK, so some people still think it’s the Troylet (i.e. Troy + toilet), but we’ll let them continue thinking that while we enjoy the spoils for ourselves. Sitting up on a hill overlooking everything, like a wise old person? Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), one of the top engineering schools in the nation. (See what it’s doing to help put an end to COVID-19.) The college recently posted a Business Support Analyst IV position (I’m pretty sure that has nothing to do with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, but you never know). To see if you’re qualified, search Monster.com for the post or check if it’s been posted to RPI’s jobs page yet (it was hot off the presses when we found it).
Cool Job Opportunity (Local)
The grocery delivery service Instacart is providing services crucial to many who are quarantined, senior citizens and others that have run danger-low on food. (Obviously, if you’re among those ranks, try to steer clear of the grocery stores as much as possible to kill the viral spread dead.) Thankfully, the brains behind the company said that they’re ramping up hiring, and will add 300K new jobs. Glassdoor, Indeed, ZipRecruiter and many others have Instacart positions listed on their sites. Or you can just go right to its own careers page. (Note: Some Instacarters are striking right now, so apply, knowing that you might end up on the picket lines at some point.)
National/Remote Work Opportunities
Cool Job Opportunity (Remote)
Vivial, a marketing tech company, is looking for remote, contract freelance writers. “Our freelancers are tasked with writing hyper-polished, sharp and colorful 300-word posts for hundreds of local and national clients across various industries, everything from beauty and real estate to dentistry and funeral services,” says the company. You can either search for the position on LinkedIn Jobs or go directly to the company’s career page.
Cool Job Opportunity (Remote)
OK, so maybe you can’t don that police officer’s uniform you wore to your friend’s Halloween party last year and magically become a cop. But this gig’s the next best thing: Net Transcripts, a company that does transcribing work for the law enforcement community, has a number of remote positions available. (You will have to pass a background check to be a viable candidate.) For those of you unfamiliar with transcribing, it requires you to listen to audio tapes and write down every word said on the tape. Sounds pretty easy, right? As a journalist, you have to have a knack for it—and some of us even really dig it, me included. True story: I learned that Elton John’s legal middle name was “Hercules” by transcribing an interview at Rolling Stone magazine, when I interned there in the early aughts. Call the knowledge you pick up from transcribing a job perk. Browse Net Transcripts’ jobs here.
Local Job/Business Resources
Cool Job Resource (Anywhere)
Man, was I chuffed when Renee Walrath, president of Walrath Recruiting, Inc., which has offices in Albany and Saratoga, reached out to me on LinkedIn the other day. She’d read our SL’s Job Hunters post and wanted to pitch in, whatever way she could. What she offered local/national job hunters is nothing short of gold. Last year, the company published its own e-book, The Ultimate Job Search Guide, which includes tips such as how to write an attention-grabbing cover letter and interview with confidence—in short, a digital roadmap for getting back to work. It normally costs $9.99, but you can now download it on their site for free! Get it here.
Cool Job Lead (Local)
Saratoga’s Fingerpaint, a wildly successful marketing agency that focuses on the health and wellness space, is run by one of the city’s most successful businessmen, Ed Mitzen (learn more about what makes Ed tick here). And although Fingerpaint’s currently not hiring at its Saratoga office, a rep from its People & Culture (i.e. HR) department tells me that Fingerpaint managers, in a number of departments, are still interviewing candidates for potential future placement at the company. She says that Fingerpaint’s all about its people, and is always looking for great new talent to join the agency. (You can scroll through a list of possible future roles here.) “If you’re a fit, we’d love to talk to you, so apply!” she says. Sounds like a better-than-average foot in the door, no?
Cool Job Resource (Local)
When I quit my job to become a full-time freelance writer in 2013, I knew I was taking a huge risk. I basically threw away a steady income and health benefits in order to be more creatively stimulated, and while some might see that as a ridiculous tradeoff, to me, it was everything. (Mind you, we also had a second income coming in from my wife, and she agreed that I could attempt the hermetic life of a freelance writer, as long as I had an exit strategy.) I quickly learned that full-time employees have it off pretty easy, comparatively speaking: Think about all the hours you spend in meetings or doing other things that don’t constitute actually “working.” You get paid for all of that time. As a freelance writer, you only get paid when you produce—and even that’s sort of a misnomer; you get paid on publish, so you might have to wait months to get paid for a single story.
I’ve been at this game a long time, and I’ve picked up more than a few pro tips on how to snag jobs. For nearly four years, I “advertised” hourlong phone sessions on my LinkedIn page for anyone wanting to talk about getting into the writing/editing trade. And I did it for free because, frankly, having good, intelligent people out there in the workforce is a good thing—and it was a great way to network, too. While I don’t have as much free time as I used to, I’d be more than happy to start this up again, in the name of good faith. Looking to break into a journalism or creative writing/arts jobs? Hit me up at [email protected], and I’ll do my best to answer all of your questions. Happy to help.
Cool Job Resource (Anywhere)
Despite being the social media equivalent of your dorky uncle with a PhD compared to the cute, carefree Millennials that are Instagram and TikTok, LinkedIn has a massive amount of information on it about how to find and secure jobs. And there are loads of experts on there that are way more versed in the trade than I am. Here’s one example of a post that could be of help to you. I’d also suggest paying the monthly fee to make your account Premium, so that you can cold-message hiring managers.
Cool Resources for Kids
Little Passports
When I used to commute to Saratoga, all those weeks ago (it seems like an eternity at this point), I’d always listen to NPR on the way to the office, and they’d run this ad over and over and over again for Little Passports. Yeah, I know, I know: “the power of advertising.” But you don’t have to be Don Draper to realize how cool this company is: Parents can buy their tots a subscription (starting at about $13/month), and Little Passports will send them packages filled with toys and activities hinging on different subjects like world travel, history and science. Nobody sent me anything even remotely this cool when I was a kid!
BrainPOP
School’s (temporarily) out at the moment, so parents have been forced to figure out ways to creatively homeschool their kids. And it’s not so easy. I reached out to a mom friend of mine, who has two kids home right now, and she introduced me to a few of the online hubs that they frequent. One that is getting great traction is BrainPOP, which was founded in the late ’90s by pediatrician Dr. Avraham Kadar, and is a web destination that makes learning topics such as science, math and English fun for kids. (I started playing one of the anatomy-related games and almost got sucked in, so it could be fun for you, too.)
Cool Diversions
Follow This Instagram Account
How’s about a little dose of irony for you, job-seeker? It’s time to start following @girlwithnojob (a.k.a. Claudia Oshry), who, despite her handle’s name, does Instagram for a living now (she has 3.1 million followers and apparently earns in the millions for her work). She’ll make you laugh with her well-heeled taste in memes, social posts and occasional, enjoyable videos. And hey, if you want to give being an Instagram influencer a shot right now, nobody’s stopping you. Not even some pesky virus.
Take A Survey – And Enter To Win A Pair of Tickets To See Dave Matthews Band!
We’ve been working with four talented Skidmore College students from the Skidmore-Saratoga Consulting Partnership for the past few months on how to make our business an even strong one. (They’ve been super helpful!) The students created a 3-5 minute survey to help answer a lot of our most pressing questions here. Take it, and you’ll be entered to win two tickets to see the Dave Matthews Band at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) this summer. When this virus b.s. is all over, and you’re sitting pretty in box seats at SPAC, singing along to “Satellite,” you can say “I told you so” to all of your friends that didn’t take the survey.
Jobs Jukebox
To cap things off this week, I’ve included one of my favorite work-related songs, “Something More Than Free,” the title-track from Grammy-winning Americana artist Jason Isbell‘s fifth album (if you have some time—and, hell, don’t we all right now?—go back and check out Isbell’s work as a member of Southern rock powerhouse, the Drive-By Truckers).
